ART OF HOMEMAKING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23205, 1 June 1937, Page 14

ART OF HOMEMAKING

TRAINING OF COUNTRY GIRLS COURSE OF STUDY IN DUNEDIN “I envy your your opportunities. There is nothing I would rather be than a young New Zealand woman, with a part to play in building the future of this productive and wonderful country,” said Professor A. G. Strong in the course of a final fireside talk given to the 20 delegates of the Junior Homemakers’ Club who had assembled from the remotest parts of Southland and Otago to spend four days and a-half in residence at Upper Studholme House, studying the art of homemaking. This thought made a fitting climax to all that the girls had seen, heard, and done whilst attending sessions of the W.E.A. and A.C.E. Winter School, when aspects of “Marriage and the Family ” were discussed, or whilst at Upper Studholme House, where they obtained practice in running the home. The 20 girls were enabled to use the rooms at Upper Studholme to study three aspects of homemaking—namely, meal planning, organising, and preparation; dining table setting, service, and etiquette; furnishing, decoration, and care of bedroom and living rooms. Three entire mornings were devoted to these studies. The girls, who were divided into three groups, worked in rotation in kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms. After breakfast each day duties were changed and the new study commenced. ' Those studying meal problems assembled in the kitchen at 9 a.m., where, with Miss J. Buddie, they first discussed the entire day’s menu, which included the following day’s breakfast. After drawing up time and working schedules that would enable them to have free afternoons and no rushing in the morning, the six girls settled down to get the meals ready for the entire household, consisting of 24 persons. In this all three groups were completely successful, all meals being excellently cooked and punctually served. ' Similarly the second group assembled in the dining room, and during the morning, under Miss R. Grocott’s direction, they studied table setting for formal and informal meals, the setting of trays and table decoration, and rehearsed table service. They also prepared and served morning tea, acted as waitresses at the three meals of the day on which they were on duty, set tables and washed up afterwards. Meanwhile, the girls in the third group spent their morning under the leadership of Miss V. Macmillan in considering the principles involved in furnishing bedrooms, and the colour schemes suitable for different rooms. Each drew a plan of her own bedroom, and cut out to scale the plans of the furniture it contained. Then each arranged her furniture in the room plan to give the maximum of convenience and good effect. After each girl’s arrangement had been discussed by the group, the next consideration was suitable colour treatment. Following a brief lecture on the use and effects of colour, each girl planned a colour scheme. Using coloured crayons and sections cut from samples of wallpaper and paint advertisements, the actual colours, or as nearly as possible what approximated to them, were pasted into the girls’ notebooks. Next the group was asked to analyse the treatment in the Upper Studholme drawing room, and after doing so. were invited to criticise and improve on a bedroom in which a large number of wrong features were in evidence. During three of the afternoons, members of the Otago Home Economics Association gave most helpful demonstrations. On Tuesday, Mesdames Lymburn and Nelson demonstrated “Mocassin making”: on Wednesday. Mrs Weir similarly showed how silk lampshades were made; and Mrs Leary exhibited her collection of toys and explained how they were made. On Thursday, Mrs Lane showed how pictures might be framed, using “passe partout ” and then gave a talk on tapestry making, showing samples of her own work as an illustration. The final demonstration was given by Mrs Greig, who showed how rope mats could be easily made. On Tuesday evening the delegates attended Miss Rene Wilkie’s lecture on " Child Training ” at the Winter School, on Wednesday evening the addresses given by Professor A. G. Strong and Dr E. Gregory on “ Family Budgets and Dietaries,” and on Friday they attended all the sessions of the Winter School—- “ Beauty in the Home,” given by Miss A. Bowbyes; “Marriage and the Family in Fascist Countries,” by Mrs N. Benson: and the round-table discussion in the evening.